Las Vegas
Slots of fun
Las Vegas must be one of the craziest places on earth, it’s wacky, it’s quirky, it’s crazy… It’s Vegas!
As we were staying mid week we managed to bag a bargain and stay somewhere ‘Vegas’ without splashing the cash too much. We had three nights at the Luxor, opposite the MGM Grand and slap bang next to the Excelsior, we couldn’t have asked for a better location on our budget. The rooms were enormous. We had private rooms with ensuite, I’m telling you, it doesn’t get better than that when you’re traveling.
On our first night we decided to walk up the strip and take in Vegas’ main delights. As darkness fell, the whole city went up in lights and everything suddenly came to life. We passed, amongst other things, lions in the MGM, gondolas in the Venetian, water fountains in the Belagio, an erupting volcano at the Mirage and a pirate show at Treasure Island. There was a mini Eifel Tower and Statue of Liberty, you could change countries with a turn of the heel. We walked miles that evening and mostly with our mouths aghast, seeing really was believing. And that was all outside the casinos, watching the gamblers inside at the table was a whole other experience.
Having seen the cheering around the tables and free drinks swirling around, we decided to increase our chances of winning by attending gambling lessons, put on for free by our hotel. We had instruction on roulette (even I started to understand this one), black jack and craps – the most complicated game on earth.
We decided to put the blackjack to the test and arranged a dummy game between the four of us in our room. This gave us the confidence (well the wine may have had something to do with this) to have a go at a real game. Unfortunately I can report that playing blackjack in a casino is considerably faster and more stressful than playing with your friends. Our $50 went up to $80, for around 15 seconds we were on a high, however 40 seconds later it was all gone. We left with a sense of shock and bewilderment, but at least we had tried. It wasn’t all bad news though, we did all strike lucky on the one cent slot machines, winning about $10 between us, we were very proud!
Vegas was everything I expected and more. I think anyone who goes there will be stunned by the lights, the glitz, the glamour and unbelievable wealth of some. If you’re going to Vegas, my advice would be, embrace the tackiness and have a gamble, even if it’s a one cent slot machine, it would be a crime not to.
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